Police signal system



Sept. 8, 1925. 1,552,843

w. w. KIDENEY ET AL POLICE SIGNAL SYSTEM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 3,1919 Sept. 8,-1925. 1,552,843

W. W. KIDENEY ET AL POLICE SIGNALSYSTEM filed Nov. 5, 1919 2 Shuts-Sheeta Patented Sept. 8, 1925. 5

UNITED STATES 1,552,843 PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM w. KIDENEY; or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AND GUSTAV r. o. BA ER, orBUFFALO,

NEW YORK, ASSIGNORS, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO NATIONAL POLICK SIGNAL COMPANY, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

POLICE SIGNAL SYSTEM.

Application filed November 3, 1919. Serial No. 335,517.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that we, VVILLTAM W. KID- nNsY and GUSTAV F.1C. BAUER,citizens of the United States, and residents of Chicago, in the countyof Cool: and State of Illinois, and Buffalo, in the county of Erie andState of New York, respectively, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Police Signal Systems, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to a signal system and more particularly to asignal system for use between a central station'and a plurality ofsub-stations for police purposes.

The objects of this invention are to provide means for utilizing commonbattery telephone circuits over which Various signals, such as arenecessary in a signal system of this character, can be transmitted in asimple and direct manner and so that all electrical energy necessary forthe ope '2- tion of the various signals can be supplied from the centralstation to the sub-stations over the telephone circuits interconnectingthe sub-stations with the central station; also to so or anize thesystem as to permit of eliminating all code signal sending and receivingmechanisms; also to provide special service signals, such as wagon callsand hourly reports, of such a character that the oflicer sending thesame in from a sub-station will know that the same have been received atthe central station; also to provide means forpreventing interference orconfusion at the central station between signals that may be sentsimultaneously from several sub-stations; also to provide visual audiblesignals at each sub-station and so arranging the same that the operatorat the central station can at will operate either the visual or audiblesignals at any one or more substations, as may be desired; also toprovide means for supplying the electrical energy necessary for theoperation of said visual and audible signals from the central station tothe sub-stations over their respective circuits; also to provide meansat the central station to indicate to the operator at the centralstation that any one has answered said visual or audible signals thatmay be sent to a sub-station; also to pro vide means at th centralstation so that the operator can determine the operative conthe varioussub-stations; also to provide means at the central station forimpressing upon the visual signals at the sub-stations electricalimpressions of the same value regardless oi the distance between thesame and the central station and to improve the system in other respectsas will hereinafter more fully appear.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure l is a diagrammatic view of those portions oi our inventionembodied in a sub station together with extensions showing the manner inwhich an additional audible sig: nal and an additional visual signal maybe provided to increase the range of the sta-' tion. Figure 2 is asimilar View showing those parts of our improvements which are embodiedin a central station. Figure 3 is a similar view showing the door switchof a sub-station in a'positio-n different from that shown in Fig. 1.Figure 4 is a diagrammatic representation of a suitable form of cordcircuit and operators set which may be used in connection with thissystem.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in theseveral views.

That portion of the mechanism embodyin our invention arranged at each ofthe sub-stations and shown in Fig. 1 is as follows: I 1

A represents the telephone receiver and B the receiver-hook switchhaving ahook lever which is adapted to engage the fixed contact 6 Crepresents the transmitter connected by wire 2 with one side of thereceiver A and by wire 1 with the contact 19 D represents a door switchwhich is operated by the opening and closing of the sig nal box door atthe substation which switch is so organized that when the door is closedthe visual and audible signals at the sub station are cut into thesub-station circuit and at the same time the telephone appa ratus andother parts of the circuit are cut out, but when the door of the signalbox at the sub-station is opened the switch I) is operated to cut outthe visual and audible signal equipment and outs in the balance of theequipment at the sub-station. This switch eon'iprises an insulating pushbutton (1, and two main switch levers (Z (5. the outer and inner sidesof the contact switch lever a are arranged two contact-s (Z (Z On theinner and and outer sides of the lever contact al are arranged twocontacts d (Z respectively.

The contact (i is connected by wire 13 with the receiver hook b and thecontact (Z is connected with the opposite side of the transmitter C bywire 3. The main switch levers (P, d are connected, respectively, to thewires at and 12 ofthe main circuit connecting the sub-station with thecentralstation.

a" is a vibrating buzzer or signal comprising an electro-magnet havingone end of its coil a connected by wire 18 with the wire 13, this endofthis coil being also connected with a fixed switch contact a which isadapted to be engaged and. disengaged by a movable switch contact atformed by the armature of this electro-magnet, this armature switchbeing connected with the opposite endot the coil of said electro-magnet.

Q is the hourly report switch which in this instance comprises ahand-operated push button 9, and two contacts g The contact 9 isconnected by wires 16, 17 with the armature cont-act g and thecorresponding end of its electro-magnet coil (4 The companion switchcontact. 9 is connected with ground P by wire 15', 1 1-.

S represents the wagon call switch forming part of the means whereby acall for a wagon is sent by an officer from the substation tothe centralstation. This switch comprises a pushbutton 8, two switch lever contacts8 sflan inner fixed contact 8 and an outer fixed contact 8 which isengaged by the lever contact 8 The contact 8 is connected by wire'26with the wire lt leading to ground P and the contact 8 is connected bywire 31 'with the wire 17 leading to the coil a and armature contact aoithe buzzer a T is a wagon call relay which serves to first provideapath for operation of the recording mechanism at the central stationover one side of the telephone circuit and ground, also to connect thebuzzer a across the telephone circuit and to maintain this connectionuntil the relay is restored to normal by momentarily cutting oit thebattery from the line at the central station. This relayco-mprises anelectro-niagnet having a coil t one end of which is connected by wires28, 27 with the contact .9 while the other end is connected by wire 29with wire 13 oi the main telephone circuit. This relay electro-magnetoperates two switches one of which consists of a movable cont-act t anda fixed contact 6 while the other consists of amovable contact 25 and afixed contact 25 The contact If is connected with the wires 28, 27leading from the coil 2 to the contact 5 while its companion contact 25is connected by wires 30, 14 to ground P The movable contact i isconnected by wire 32 to the lever contact 8 while its companion fixedcontact is connected by wire 33 to the wire 3 of the main telephonecircuit.

I is the audible signal at the sub-station which in this instanceconsists of an electro-magnet having a coil i, a diaphragm armature 71adapted to be vibrated by an alternating current passing through thecoil 1', and a horn i for projecting sound waves created by thediaphragm.

J is the visual signal at the sub-station which in this example consistsof an incandescent electric lamp.

L is a condenser arranged at the sub-station so as to prevent thebattery current from backing through the signal branch of the circuit atthe sub-station. R is the signal selecting relay which is arranged atthe sub-station and whereby the operator at the central station canoperate the visual or audible signals at the sub-station selectively.This relay comprises an electro-magnet having its coil 1" connected onone side by wire 4-3 toground P This relay controls a break-and-makeswitch comprising a movable contact r and two fixed contacts W, W. Thatendoi' the relay coil 0* opposite to the grounded'end is connected bywires 42 and 41 with the contact (l of the door switch D. The movablecontact 7 is also connected with the'door switch contact (Z by wires 40and 41. The contact r is connected by wire 39 with one end of coil 2' ofthe horn electro-magnet and the other fixed contact 1 is connected bywire 38 to one side of the visual signal lamp J. One side of thecondenser L is connected by wires 35 and 34 with the contact d of thedoor switch D while the other side of this condenser is connected withthe other side of the lamp J by wires 36 and 37 and to the other end ofthe horn coil 2' by wires 36 and a l.

hen it is desired to provide audible and visualsignals at a distancefrom the substation which may be operated in unison with those locateddirectly at the sub-station, and thus increase the range of the audibleand visual signal mechanism, an extension of the audible and visualsignal mechanism may be provided consisting of an extension audiblesignal P, an extension visual signal J a relay R and an extensioncondenser L which may be connected with each other in the same manner asthe signals 1 and J, the relay R and the condenser L and connected withthe door switch contacts (Z and (Z by wires 41 and 35 Theinstrumentalities of this system arranged at the central station areconstructed as follows:

UM represents the sub-station line-jack by means of which telephonecommunication may be established with the sub-station in the usualmanner of telephone service. This jack comprises two line terminalcontacts which are adapted to engage with the tip and sleeve ofa plug ofa connecting cord circuit, as will be hereinafter described, a guidering m beingarranged in front of these two contacts for guiding a pluginto engagement with these contacts. The line- Jack also includes threeauxiliary contacts m mi, on. An insulating block at is interposedbetween the line contact m and the auxiliary contact m is a condenserfor the purpose of preventing grounding the hour report circuit throughthe medium of the cord circuit as will presently appear. This condenseris connected on one side with the contact m by wire 20. 1

F, F F F represent the switching key by means" of which the audible andvisual signals at the sub-station are controlled, the two groups ofswitch members F, F t being operated together as one unit while the twogroups of switch members F F are also operated as one unit, these two"units being arranged so that they cannot be operated at the same time.The main switch contacts 7' and f 'of the groups F,F are so constructedthatwhen this part of the key is operated they will be automaticallyrestored when the key lever is released. The main switch contacts 7, fof the; groups F F are so" constructed that they will be locked in anoperating position until manually released by means ofthe key lever.Group F comprises three contacts 7, f f of which f is the lever switchcontact which in the nor ma l or nonoperative position engages with thecontact f and disengaged from the contact f, andvice versa. Group, Fcomprises three contacts fflf f of which f is the lever switch contactwhich inthe normal or non-operative position: engages. the contact f andis disengaged fromthe contact 7, and vice versa. Group F comprises fourcontacts 7, f f f and an insulating block f interposed between fhandf".Group F comprises two contacts ff ,7 which in the normal ornon-operative position are disengaged while in the operative positionthey are engaged.

The contact f is connected by the main line circuit wires 6, 9, with themain line jack contact m and is also connected by wires 6, 6 withcontact 7" of switch group The contact f of group F is connected by maincircuit wire 21 with the opposite side of the condenser 0. Contact 7 ofswitch F is connected by wires 16 and 16 with contact m of the jackM.

V represents a source of supplying alternating electric current onesideof which is connected by wire with the contact 7 while the otherside of the same is connected with the contact f by wires 98 and 46which latter include a buzzer 97[ The electric source V is utilized forsupplying energy for a plurality of sub-station c1rcu1ts in which casethe wires 4:6, 45 would be multiof which comprises a switch levercontact 6 v which is connected with one side of the substation linecircuit by wire 12, and which in its non-operative. position engages afixed contact a connected by wire 11 with the contact f of switch groupF. Another switch which is controlled by the electromagnet of relay Ecomprises switch lever contact 6 which connected to the othersideo-f thesub-station circuit by wire 4 and which in' its normal or non-operativepositionengages lined contact'c connected by wire 5 with contact f ofswitch group F 6 is a movable switch lever contact which is connectedwith the switch lever contact 0 by an insulating member (2 and which inits normal or nonoperative position is engaged with contact 6 connectedby wire 52 with contact oi the switch group F N represents a line lampsignal one of which is connected by wires 17 andl8 to grznind l? and bywire 16 and 16 to contact m of line jack M, also wires 16 and 16 tocontact 7 of switch group F Z represents a similar lamp signal one ofwhich is associated with each sub-station circuit for the purpose ofindicating to the operator at the central station when the visual signalat the corresponding subsst-ation is being operated. To distinguish thislamp signal from the companion lamp signal, it is preferably colored redor otherwise. One side of this lamp Z is connected by wires 53 and 18 toground P while the other side of the same is connected by wire to fixedcontact 6 of the relay E.

K represents the relay used for making hourly reports from thesub-station at the central station, and also for inductance in thebattery supply circuit to the sub-station circuit for telephone use. Oneside of the coil of the electromagnet of this relay is connected by wire10 with the contact i of switch group F while the other side of the sameis connected by wire 9, to one side of the common battery H the otherside of the latter being connected by wire 19 with ground P Forn'iing apart of the relay K and operated by its electromagnet is a switchcomprising a lever contact ic which is movable into and out ofengagement with the contact 71: G represents the line signal controlrelay which is used for indicating, through the medium of the lamp N,when a telephone call is made. from the sub-station to the centralstation, and also for operating lamp N as a supervisory signal, and alsoas an inductance in the battery supply to the substation for telephonepurposes. The coil 9. of the electro-magnet of the relay G is connectedon one side by wire 7 with contact f? of switch group F and on its otherside by wire 8 with grounded; side of the common battery H. This relayoperates twoswitches one of which comprisesa lever contact 9 which movesout of andinto engagement with a fixed contact 9- whiclris connected bywire 21 with fixed contact 70 of relay K. The other switch associatedwith the. relay G comprises lever contact; 9

connected-by wire 14to one side of mon battery H.

VV'is a recording mechanism for the purpose Ofi receiving and recordingat the central station hourly reports and wagon calls sent from therespective. sub-stations. One side of the recorder-1 V is connected bycommon wire 67 to one side of the common batteryeH.

The recording mechanism indicated by the reference character W is soconstructed that it includes a plurality of recording members orelements, each of which form part of and is operable by. one of: thesecondary circuits otthe system, sothat a sigT nal sent in from thesubstation over any one of these secondary circuits can be recorded thecomby its independent recording device inclependently, of the operationof the recording device forming part of the other secondary circuits of]the recorder I at the central station, thereby preventing confusion ofthe records at the central station, it signals are sent into the centralstation from more than one substation at a time. A suitable form ofrecording mechanism for this purpose is shown in Letters Patent of theUnited States, No, 1,315,201, granted September 9, 1919.

U represents a slow acting cut-ofi' relay which is interposed betweenthe recording mechanism and the hourly report relay K for the purpose ofpreventingthe recorder from repeating when an hourly report is sent infrom any sub-station to the central station. The coil uof theelectro-magnet of this relay is connected on one side by wire 25 withthe non-grounded, side of the common battery H, while its opposite sideis connected by wires 24 and 22 to contact 9* t relay (1 The relay U isso constructed that the action of its armature is retarded or delayed inits. operative movement which can be. accomplished in various ways, forinstance, as, shown in the drawings, Fig. 2, by connecting with thearmature contact u of'this relay a weighted pendulum u a isafixed-contact which is connected by. wire 66- with one side of therecordingcircuit corresponding to the respect-ivesub-station circuit,and which is normally; engaged by the movable contacta? ot'the cut-ofi'relay The movable contact a is connected U. by wire 22 withcontact-gfofrelay G.

V is an interrupter or contact making-zinc breaking mechanismv which maybe of any suitable construction butwvhich for examplemay. be operated bya rotatable cam 4) under the control of theoperator/at thecentral prisesfour contacts c 4F, c", 1), the contact c being moved intoandout ofengagement with-thecontach o :by the cam, an insulating connection vi:being interposed between the contacts otand 0?; and the contact '0 beingmovable andout of engagement with theicontact ct. The contact isconnected by wire 49. to'contactf offswitch group F and is alsoconnected 1 by wireioly to contact 0 of relay E. Thecontact o isconnected b wire 65- to thenon-grounded side of the connnon-batteryrH'"The contact '0? is connectedbywire54with-thecontact e of relay E.

is a transformerofspecial construction having the usual primary windingwthe opposite-ends of wh lch areconnected by wires 62-and 63 toa sourceof alternating electric current V3. The-secondary winding 015 thistransformeris-provided with a plurality of taps connected at differentpoints of its winding, so that alternating currents of various-voltagesmay be drawn fromthe sameat the same time to supply energy to-thewdifferent-substations to corn- -pensate for the Variations in voltagelosses due tothe unequal lengths-of the circuits of thesub-stationsflThese taps are shown at 1 0 103, w, and in this instancetap w? is shown in service and connected by wire 55 to contact e ofrelay E;

X is an alternating current buzzer preterably of thepolarized belltypesuch as is commonly used in telephone practice. This buzzer in thisinstance has a'movable armature m andan electromagnet, the ceilingofwhich has one sideconnected by wires 61 and 56 to thecommon sideofrthe secondary winding 101 of the transformer V while the othersideiofthecoil w is connected by wires and 59 with the contact '0 ofthecircuit interrupter V Y is a hand operated. test switch which isusedrin conjunction with the buzzer X as a meansof testing the operativeconditions of any one of the visual signals J of the severalsubstations; This switch comprises a movable contact y? providedwith abutton-y and connectedby wires 58 and 59 with contact 41' -i of thecircuit interrupter V and is movable out or and lntoengagement withcontact which latter is connected by wires 57 and 56' to the common sideof the secondary winding 10 of the transformer W As shown in Fig. 4, thecord circuit com" prises two connecting plugs 70, 71 which have tips 72,73 and sleeves 7 e, 75, respective ly. The tips of both plugs areconnected together by wire 76, while the sleeves are connected togetherby wire 77. Included in each cord circuit there is a listening key 78having movable switch contacts 79, 80, arranged to be engaged with fixedcontacts 81, 82, the former being connected by wire 84 and 77 to thesleeves of the respective plugs while the latter is connected by wires83 and 76 to the tips of the'two plugs. 85, 86 represent the primary andsecondary of the induction coil, respectively, one side of the primarybeing connected by wire 90 to one side oi the operators transmitter 88,while the other side of the transmitter is connected by wire 91 with thebattery 89. The other side of the battery 89 is connected by wire 92with the opposite side of the primary 85 of the induction coil. One sideof the secondary winding 86 is connected by wire 93 with the contact 79of the listening key 78 while its other side is connected by wire 94 toone side of the operators receiver 87 and the other side of the receiverbeing connected by wire 95 to contact spring 80 of the listening key 78.The contacts 79 and 80 of the listening key 7 8 are engaged anddisengaged with the fcontacts 82 and 81, respectively, by a leveroperated insulated button or me nber 96. a

The operation of the various functions of this system is as follows:

The parts of the system are shown in Figs. 1 and 2 in their normalposition in which no signals or conversations are being carried on overthe circuits, but are in readiness for sending in wagon calls, hourlyreports or telephone alls from the substations to the central station orto operate the visual or audible signals at the sub-station from thecentral station and to hold telephone communication between the centralstation and thesuhstaticn when such signals at the substation areanswered, and also to test the operative condition of the visual signalat the sub-station from the central station.

Assuming that the oiiicer at the sub-station wishes to talk to theoperator at the central station, the method of procedure is as follows:

The or'iiccr box th opens the door of the signal W sub station whichcauses the switch button it" to be withdrawn from the posit on shown in1 to the position shown in Fig. 3, thereby disengaging con-- tacts 5*and i from contacts (Z and (i respectively, and engaging the conta ts 01and (Z with contacts a? and d This change in the signal boxswitch D cutsout the audible and visual signal equipment I, J, the signal relay R andcondenser L, and cuts in the talking circuit, hourly report circuit andwagon call circuit, so that any one of these three circuits can be usedas desired. It now the officer wishes to talk, he removes the receiver Afrom the switch hook B, which causes the sub-station line lamp signal Nat the central station to become lighted indicating to the operator thatsome one at the corresponding sub-station desires to talk. The circuitat this time is fromone side of the receiver A, through wire 2,transmitter C, wire 3, switch contacts d wire i, switch contacts 6 e,wire 5, key contacts 7, 7, wire 6, 6 key contacts 7, f wire 7, relaycoil g, wire 8, battery H, wire 9, relay coil 70, wire 10, key contactsfflff, Wire 11, relay contacts 6 6, wire 12, switchcontacts 0Z cl,wire13, hook switch contacts 6 [2 wire 1 and back to the other sideofthe receiver A. The closing of this circuit causes electrical energyto flow through relays G and K, causing both of these relays to operatesimultaneously. WVhen relay G is energized, movable switch contactg isdisenga 'ed from fixed contact 9 this occurring at the same instant thatmovable switch contact k of relay K isentering into engagement withfixed contact The action of contact 9* of relay Gr therefore serves tobreak the circuit which is being established by the switch contact 70 ofrelay K for a purpose which will presently appear. At the same timemovable'switch contact 9 of relay G is, moved out of engagement fromfixed contact g and into engagement with contact g thereby establishingthe following auxiliary circuit:

Beginning at battery H'the current flows over wire 14, contacts g 9 wire15, jack contacts m m wires 16, 16 through line signal N, and wires 17,18 to ground P, the opposite side of the battery Hbeing grounded by wire19 to ground P to complete the circuit. This causes the line signal lampN to become lighted and thereby indicating that some one at thesub-station wishes to talk to the central station. The operator nowinserts either plug 70 or 71 of one of the interconnecting cord circuitsinto the line jack M, thereby causing the tip 72 or 73 of either plugused to engage the jack contact m and the corresponding sleeve 74 or 75to engage the contact spring m and also disengaging contactm fromcontact m and engaging contact m with contact This change in the switchcontacts m at, m entinguishes the lamp N by opening the circuit acrosscontacts m m Atthe same time theoperator closes the operators talkingcircuit across the cord cir- .cuit. by means of the listening key button96.

a wagon call may be sent from the sub station to the central station bydepressing the bottom 8 of the Wagon call switch S.

hen this button 8 is depressed it causes contact springs s and s todisengage and contact springs s and s to engage. WVhen contact springs 8and s are engaged a circuit is formed as follows:

From ground P over wires 14, 26, through spring contacts 8 8, wires 27,28, through winding t of relay T, over wires 29 and 13 and thenfollowing the same course as the circuit for hourly report from thispoint on. In fact, this part of the wagon call circuit performs thefunction of the previously described hourly report circuit, with the exception that in this instance the circuit is closed at the substationthrough the coil 25 of relay T in place of going through the winding aof the buzzer a. When relay T is energized, contacts 25 and t of saidrelay T are engaged, thereby providing a shunt circuit around the switchcontacts 8 and s as follows:

From ground P over wires 14: and 30, contacts 6 and t of relay T, wire28 to winding t and then following the same path as previously describedwith reference to the recorder part of wagon call circuit. \Vhen thebutton .9 is released, thereby opening the original circuit at contacts3 and s relay T will still remain energized by reason of the shuntcircuit above described. When button .9 is restored to normal, thecontacts a? and 8 again engage, thereby closing the circuit across themain lines 3, 13 through the buzzer a as follows:

From. wires 13, 18, through coil winding a of short circuiting buzzer a,over wires 17 and 31, contacts 5 and .9 over wire 32 to c ntacts t and tof relay T, and over wire 33 to wire 3. This circuit is then completedthrough. the central oiiice equipment in the same manner as a regulartelephone call previously described. When this circuit is closed asabove described the buzzer a will operate and the sound of the buzzerwill be audible to the party making the call. At the same time atelephone call will be signalled on the line signal lamp N and when theoperator answers said call in the usual manner, as previously described,he will hear the buzzer or rather the effect produced by the cutting inand out of the winding of the buzzer, and by reason of this sound hewill know the nature of the call without having to actually holdconversation with the man at the sub-station. When the operator hasascertained the nature of the call, he opens the main line circuit byoperating signal key groups F, F thereby cutting ofi" the battery supplyat this point by the disengaging of the contacts 7, 7 of theabove-mentioned key. This causes relay 2 to be restored to its normalnonoperative position. When relay T is restored to normal position thecircuit through buzzer a' is opened at contacts 25 and i which are nowdisengaged, the buzzer will cease to operate. hen the buzzer stops, theman at the sub-station knows that his call has been received. at thecentral station. As previously stated, when relay T is energized itforms a part of the recording circuit and therefore a record is made onthe recording mechanism.

It will be noted that when making a wagon call the buzzer a is connectedacross the circuit 3, 13, at the sub-station while when making an hourlyreport the buzzer a is connected from one side of this circuit betweenwire 13 and ground at the substation.

In the previously described operations, originated at the sub-stationall of the functions that can be performed at the substation have beendescribed. In each of these operations the switch D is in the positionas shown in Fig. 3. The switch Dis operated by the door of the signalboX and therefore the switch automatically assumes the proper positionfor the service to be performed. lVhen the signal box is closed theswitch I) is in the position as shown in Fig. 1. and is then in aposition so that either the audible or visual signals located thesub-station can be operated from the central station.

W'hen the audible signal at the sub-station is to be sounded, it is onlynecessary to depress signal key groups F, F This causes contact 7 to bedisengaged from contact f and engage contact f and contact to bedisengaged from contact f and to engage with contact 7. Vhen the circuitis broken between contacts f and f and between contacts f and f allparts of the central tion equipment extending from wires 6 and 21 whichterminate on contacts f and F, are cut oil from the line circuit so thatthe signal current cannot back up through any part of said centralstation equipment.

W'e have now. established an electrical circuit from the alternatingcurrent source V at the central station over the sub-station linecircuit through the audible signal I located at the substation asfollows From one side of the V over wire 4.5, contacts f f wire 5,contacts 0 c ,,wire 4, contacts 05 (5, wires 41, 10, contacts 1', r wire39, through coil i of audible signal I, over wires 44, 36 throughcondenser L, wires 35, 34, contacts d (i wire 12, contacts e, 0 wire 11,contacts 7, 7, wire 46, through buz zer 97, wire 93 to the other side ofthe electric source V. The audible signal will now 'operate and continueto do so until the switch groups F, F are restored to their normalposition, or until an orlicer answers the signal at the sub-station. Atthe same time that the audible signal I at the sub station is inoperation, the buzzer 97, which is included in this circuit, alsooperates, thus indicating the operative condition of this circuit. Theinstant the otlicer opens the door of the sub-station signal box toanswer the call,the door switch D automatically as sumes the positionshown in Fig. 3, thereby opening the audible signal circuit bydisengaging contacts (Z (Z and d', d which form a part of this circuit.The audible signal I at the sub-station now ceases to operate and forthe same reason the buzzer 97 at the central station ceases to operate,thereby indicating to the operator that the otlicer is answering thecall the sub-station. The operator now restores the switch groups F, Fto their normal condition, thereby rc-establishing the line circuit toits normal condition and permitting telephone communication to becarried on between the central station and the sub-station, aspreviously deo aeratim )osition which causes the con I t:

tacts f 7' to be disengaged and at the same time causes contacts 7', fto be engaged and also contacts 7, 7 to engage. lVhen contacts 7, f aredisengaged relay G is cut ofi from the line circuitat thispointfor areason which will presently appear. hen the operator is about to causethe visual signal I to operate, he also causes the cam '2) of thecircuit interrupter to rotate either manually or otherwise, so that thecircuit interruptions occur at this point by the engagement anddisengagement of the con- 'tacts c 71 and c if, the rate of suchinterruptions being preferably at the rate of approximately sixty timesper minute. This rate of interruption produces a flash visual signalwhich is readily recognized and not liable to be confused with othersignals. The circuit through the visual signal is now established duringthe periods when contacts 0 o", and o, o are engaged and the circuit isopened through the visual signal when contacts o, '0 and a o aredisengaged, without any further manipulation of the signal keycontrolling the switch groups F F e will first trace the battery circuitthrough the relays E and R controlling the circuit through the visualsignal J as follows: from the battery H wire 65, contacts 11 c contacts7 f wire 48, coil 0 of relay E, wires 4?, l, switch contacts (Z203 ofdoor switch D, wires 35 42 through coil 1" of relay R, wire 43 to groundP and back to the opposite side of battery H over ground P and wire 64.This now causes relays E and R to operate. On relay E contact 6* isdisengaged from contact e and engaged with contact a, contact scribed.

6 is disengaged. from contact 6 and engaged with contact 6 and Contact 6is disengaged from contact 6 and engaged with contact 6. At the sametime on relay ll, contact r is disengaged from contact r and engagedwith contact 1". The circuit through the visual signal J is nowestablished as follows: from one side of the secondary winding 10 of thetransformer 7 the current passes over wires 56, 57, through switchcontacts y over wires 58, 59, contacts o", 22 wire 54, contacts 6, 6*,wire 12, door switch contacts d", cl, wires 34, 85, con-denser L, wires36, 3?, through signal lamp J, wire 88, contacts 1", 1' wires l0, l1,contacts d, (5 wire 4, contacts c 6 wire 55, to terminal 1'0"" on theother side of the secondary winding 10 of the t 'ansformer At this timeit is assumed that electric current is flowing from the source V overwire 62, through primary winding 1/; ofthe transformer wire 63 back tothe opposite side of this electric source.

The signal lamp J will now operate and will continue to operate untilthe cam o causes the contacts o '0 and o", o to disengage or until theotiicer answers at the substation by the opening of the signal box doorwhich causes switch D to assume the position shown in Fig. 3, wherebythe circuit is opened at this point. At the same time that the signalcircuit is established, a secondary circuit is established in thecentral station as follows:

From one side of the battery H over wire 65, contacts 41 o ,wire 51,contacts 6 6, wire 50, through lamp Z, wires 53, 18 to ground P, andback to battery H over ground P and wire 64. This causes lamp Z tooperate, this lamp operating in unison with the sub-station signal lampJ, indicating to the operator at the central station that the batterycontrol circuit through relays E and R is in an operative condition andalso serves as a reminder to the operator that the signal circuit onthis particular sub-station line is being operated. If for-any reasonthe door of the sub-station signal box is not properly closed whichwould cause the door switch to assume the position shown in Fig. 3, thenthe battery circuit through the relays E and R could not be establishedbecause said circuit would be open between contacts (Z and (Z and thiswould prevent the signal lamp Z from lighting and the lamp N would belighted instead over the following circuit: from one side of battery Hover .wire to contacts c c wire 51, contacts 6 0 wire 52, contacts 7,wires 16 16 through lamp N, wires 1 18 to ground P and back to battery Has previously de- This last-mentioned condition of the lighting of lampN is intentionally used as an incoming signal when the oificer opens thesub-station signal box door to answer the call ot the visual signal Jwhich has been made from the central stat1on.' When said call isanswered by the officer and the operator at the central station has beenmade aware of the oiiicers presence at the dicated in Fig. 1, and thenwhen the officer at. the sub-station removes the receiver A from theswitch hook B, the signal lamp N, which previously was flashing, is nowconstantly lit, as in an incoming telephone call and said call isanswered, as previously described. The reason for flashing the lamp Nunder these conditions is to indicate to the operator the necessity ofrestoring the switch groups F F to normal, so that battery current canbe supplied from the battery H over the substation circuit for talkingpurposes, this act again cutting into the line circuit of the relay Gr.The relay G is purposely cut out of the circuit during the opertiaon ofthe visual signal J for the following reason: If relay G were left incircuit a momentary auxiliary circuit would be established every timethat cam o caused contacts '0 o to engage as follows: from battery Hover wire 65, contacts c c wire 49, contacts 7, f wire 48, coil 0 ofrelay E, wire 4-7, contacts 6 6 wire 5, contacts 7, f wires 6, 7,through coil g of relay G, wires 8, 19, to ground P and back to oppositeside of battery H over ground P and wire 64. Before relay E couldoperate a sufficient current impulse would flew through relay G over thecircuit above described to cause the same to operate momentarily at eachimpulse of this kind and thereby cause a disagreeable flashing of thelamp N. To prevent this, wire 7 is separated from wire 6 by means ofcontacts f and f in switch group F when the signal key lever is placedin position for operating the visual signal J Contacts 1 o are includedin the transformer circuit and are operated by the cam o for the purposeof interrupting the alternating current used for energizing the visualsignal lamp so as to prevent the deterioration Or unnecessary burning ofthe contacts 6 c c 6, of the relay E which would he the case it thispart of the secondary circuit of the transformer W were run direct tosaid relay contact 6 11": it is desired to test the operative con ditionof the visual signal J at the sub-station from the central station, thistest can be made on each sub-station line individually when the signal.circuit for operating said visual signal J is placed in. the operativeposition. by means of the signal key of switch group F F in the mannerpreviously described for the operation of the visual signal J, in thefollowing manner Button 1 of test switch Y is depressed so as todisengage contacts if, 3 H the visual signal lamp J is operating thebuzzer X will now operate. If, however, the signal lamp J, or the visualsignal circuit is not in an operative condition, the buzzer X will notoperate. The reason for this is that normally, contacts 1 p are engagedand with wires 57 and 58 provide a low resistance shunt circuit aroundthe buzzer lVhen, however, contacts 1 p are disengaged by the operationof the button thecurrent from the secondary winding 'w" of thetransformer WV is compelled to passby wires 60 and 61 through thecoil'cc of the buzzer X over the visual signal circuit as previouslydescribed, thereby providing a means of readily determining theoperative and non-operative condition of the sub-station visual signals.

If'itis desired to simultaneously operate an extension visual andaudible signals J P, in connection with the signals J and I at thesub-station, this can be done in the manner indicated in Fig. 1, andthus increase the range of the signalling capacity accordingly. 7

e claim as our invention:

1. A signal system for use between a central station and a sub-station,comprising a telephone circuit between said stations, an auxiliarycircuit combined with said telephone circuit having means for makingrecords at the central station from the sub-station, said auxiliarycircuit including means for indicating the operative condition of saidauxiliary circuit, a special service circuit combined with saidtelephone and auxiliary circuits including said means for making arecord over said auxiliary circuit and at the same time indicating atthe central station the nature of said special service, said telephonecircuit including at the sub-station said indicating means which areused in the auxiliary circuit when a record is being made at the centralstation from the sub-station, and said indicating means being also usedacross the telephone circuit when said special service circuit is inoperation.

2-. A signal system for use between'a cent'al station and a sub-station,comprising a telephone circuit between said stations, an auxiliarycircuit combined with said telephone circuit having means for makingrecords at the central station from the sub-station, said auxiliarycircuit including means for indicating the operative condition of saidauxiliary circuit, a special service circuit. combined with saidtelephone and auxiliary circuits including said means for mak ing arecord over said auxiliary circuit and at the same time indicating atthe centralstation the nature of. saidspecial service, said telephoneclrcult including at the sub- ZHO ' station. said. indicating meanswhich are used in the auxiliary circuit whena record is; being made atthe central station from the sub-station, and said indlcatingf means 6being also. used. acrossthe telephone: circuit.

fmeans for indicating the, operative condi'- tionio'tsaid auxiliarycircuit, special service circuit. combined witlnsaidatelephone and?auxiliary circuits including said means; for making a record over said.'auxiliaryv circuit I and atthe same" time; indicatingat: the centrail.station thena ture' of said special service, said telephone circuitincluding, at. the. sub-station saidindicating. means: which are usedin. the auxiliary; circuit when a record is being; made. at the centralstation. from the sub-station, and; said indicating means being.

also used. across the telephone circuit when;

said; speciah service circuit is in operation, and said special service.circuit lnclud'mg. a

relayv located ill-Said auxiliary circuit and so arranged: as; to.maintain said indicating mean-sacross the telephone circuitwhensaidspecial service circuit isin operation? andsaid special service circuitincluding means. at the. central! station for restoring said specialservice circuit at the sub-station toits normal non-operative condition.

4. A signal system for-use between acentrall station and a sub-station,comprising a telephone circuit between said stations, an.

auxiliary circuit combined with said: telephone circuit having. means.for maklngr-ecordsat the central station from.sa1d substation; saidauxiliary circuit including.

'means for indicating the operative condition-of said. auxiliarycircu;it,va special service circuit combined with-saiditelephone andauxiliarycircuits including, said. means; for makingJa record oyer'saidauxiliary circuit. and atv the same timeindicating; at the.centralistat-ion the nature of said special service,

saidtelephone circuit including at the subs stationrsaidindicating meanswhich are used in. the auxiliary circuit whena record. is be.- ing, madeat the: central station from the. subrstatiom and said indicatingmeansbeingt alsofused across the telephone circuit when: said. specialservice circuit is-in operation. and. said special seryice circuit;including; at.

w th substations? saidi au i iary i cuit a.

rel y and! a manually operableswitch, said: switch arranged to: placesaid relay in an: operativecondition, said relay being aranged so thatits operative condition is. automatically. maintained when said switch;is: released, said. relay being also provided. with means forconnecting'said indicating: meansajcross the; telephone circuit while.the relay is. in an Operative position.

5./A signalsystem for use'b etween a centra-l; station. and asub-station, comprising; a: telephonercircuit between said: stations, anauxiliary circuit. combinedwith said telephone: circuithaving means formaking rec.- ordsat the central station from said sub station, saidauxiliary circuit includin means: 'fon indicating the operative co1id1-t-ionao'fsairl auxiliary circuit, a special-servicecircuit combinedw-itlrsaid telephone'andi auxiliary circuits including said meansformaking.- a: record. over said auxiliary circuit. and: at. the same timeindicating. at. the central station. the natureof said special serv--ice; said. telephone circuit including at the sub-station saidindicating; means which are usediin the aux'ili ary circuit: whenarecord is: being: made? at the central station from the; sub-stationandsaid indicating means being also. usedacross the: telephone circuitwhen said special service-circuit is in operationand saidspecialservicecircuit including atthe sub-stationsinsaidauxiliarycircuit a relay and a manually operable switclnsaid switch arranged toplace said. relay in. an operative. condition,- said; relay beingarranged: so thatits-operat-ive condition is automat-ically maintainedWhensaid switchis released, said relay being.- also provided-withmeansfon connecting said indicating means across the telephone circuitwhile the relay is=in an operative condition and said special servicecircuit including means at the central: station forrestoring. saidspecial service; circuit at the sub-station to its normal nonoperativecondition.

6. A signal system for use between a con tralstation? and a sub-station,comprising a telephone circuit between said stations, anauiriliaiy'circuit combined with said telephone circuithaying. means formaking. records at the central station from said sub station, said.auxiliary circuit including. means. for indicating the operativeconditionof said auxiliarycircuit, a special service circuit combinedwith: said telephone andau-xiliary circuits including-said means ionmaking arecordroverzsaid auxiliary cir cuit and atthe same timeindicating. atthe 1 central station the nature of said spcci al service,said telephone circuit including atthesub-station said indicatingmeanswhich are used in, the: auxiliary, circuit when a recordis being madeat; the central station from: the sub-station, andg said indicating.aaeweg lei eed se.th e p e e t cuit when said special service circuit isin op eration and said special service circuit including at thesubstations in said auxiliary circuit a relay and a manually operableswitch, said switch arranged to place said relay in an operativecondition, said relay being arranged to that its operative condition isautomatically maintained when said switch is released, said relay beingalso provided with means for connecting said indicating means across thetelephone circuit while the relay is in an operative condition, saidswitch so arranged that when in an operative condition said indicatingmeans are disconnected from the telephone circuit.

7. A signal system for use between a central station and a sub-station,comprising a telephone circuit between said stations, an auxiliarycircuit combined with said telephone circuit having means for makingrecords at the central station from said substation, said auxiliarycircuit including means for indicating the operative condition of saidauxiliary circuit, a special service circuit combined with saidtelephone and auxiliary circuits including said means for making arecord over said auxiliary circuit and at the same time indicating atthe central station the nature of said special service, said telephonecircuit including at the sub-station said indicating means which areused in the auxiliary circuit when a record is being made at the centralstation from the sub-station, and said indicating means being also usedacross the telephone circuit when said special service circuit is inoperation and said special service circuit including at the sub-stationsin said auxiliary circuit a relay and a manually operable switch, saidswitch arranged to place said relay in an operative condition, saidrelay being arranged so that its operative condition is automaticallymaintained when said switch is released, said relay being also providedwith means for connecting said indicating means across the telephonecircuit while the relay is in an operative condition, said switch soarranged that when in an operative condition said indicating means aredisconnected from the telephone circuit and said special service circuitincluding means at the central station for restoring said specialservice circuit at the sub-station to its normal non-operativecondition.

8. A signal systemfor use between a central station and a sub-station,comprising a telephone circuit between said stations, an auxiliarycircuit combined with said telephone circuit having means for makingrecords at the central station from said substation, said auxiliarycircuit including means for indicating the operative condition of saidauxiliary circuit, a special'service circuit combined ith said telephoneand auxiliary circuits including said means for making a record oversaid auxiliary circuit and at the same time indicating at the centralstation the nature of said special service, said telephone circuitincluding at the substation said indicating means which are used in theauxiliary circuit when a record is being made at the central stationfrom the sub-station, and said indicating means being also used acrossthe telephone circuit when said special service circuit is in operation,said indicating means being arranged to give a vibratory signalwithoutopening the, telephone circuit while in operation.

9. A signal system between a central station and a plurality ofsub-stations arranged at diiferent distances from said central station,comprising a plurality of individual circuits each connecting saidcentral station with one of said sub-stations, a transformer arranged atthe central station and having its primary winding connected with asource of electrical energy while its secondary winding is permanentlyconnected at different points with said individual circuits according tothe length of the same for produc ing electric impressions of the samevalue at the several substations regardless of the distance between thesame and the central station, and visual signals arranged in saidcircuits at the sub-stations.

10. signal system between a central station and a plurality ofsubstations arranged at diflerent distances from said central station,comprising a plurality of individual circuits each connecting saidcentral station with one of said sub-stations, a transformer arranged atthe central station and having its primary winding connected with asource of electrical energy while its secondary winding is connected atdifferent points with said individual circuits according to the lengthof the same for producing electric impressions of the same value at theseveral sub-stations regardless of the distance between the same and thecentral station, visual signals arranged in said circuits at thesub-stations, and means at each sub-stationfor cutting ofi the electriccurrent at the central station from the circuit of the respectivesub-station;

11. A signal system between a central station and a plurality ofsub-stations arranged at diflierent distances from the central station,a plurality of telephone circuits each connecting said central stationwith one of said sub-stations, a visual signal arranged in each of saidcircuits at the respective substation, a transformer arranged at thecentral station and having its primary winding connected with a sourceof electric energy while different points of its secondary windingareconnected with said circuits according to the distance of therespective sub-stations from the central station for producingelectrical impressions of the same value on the visual signals at theseveral sub-statidns, means 'for impressing the electrical energy fromsaid transformer on thecircuits of any one or more of said, sub-stationsat will, and meansat each, sub-station for cutting off the" electricalcurrent at the central station from the circuit of the respectivesub-station and for preventing said current from being im pressed onsaid circuit while said substation is in *use, and means at the centralstation operated from they sub-stations for indicating that the signalhas been received at the. particular sub-station.

. 1-2. Asignal system between a central station and a:plurality'ofsub-stations arranged at different distances from thecentra ljstm tion, a plurality of telephone circuits each connectingsaid central station with one of said sub stations, a visual signalarranged in eachof said circuits at the respective substation,yavtransformer arranged at the central station and having its primarywinding connected with a source oi electric energy while differentpoints of its secondary winding are connected with said circuitsaccording to the distance of the respective substations from, thecentralstation for produc: ing electrical. impressions of the same value on thevisual signals at the several substations, means for impressing theelectrical energy from said transformer on the circuits of any one ormore otsaid. subestations at will, means at each sub-station for cuttingoff the electrical current at the central station from the circuit ofthe respective substation and :tor preventing said currentfrom' beingimpressed on said circuit while said sub-station is in use, means at thecentral station operated from the sub-stations, for. indicating that thesignal has been received at the particular sub-stations, and imeans atthe central station for individually testing at will the operativecondition of the visual signals located at saidsu'b-stations While oneof said signal circuits is set for operation.

13-.- A signal system between a central station and a plurality, ofsub-stations arranged at different distances from said central station,a plurality of telephone circuits each connecting said central stationwith one of said sub-stations, means associated with said telephonecircuits forpro-' ducing records from said sub-stations at the centralstation and so organized that the telephone circuit and recording meansare operated independently of each other, 'a special circuit at eachsu'b-statidn associated with its respective telephone circuit and=having a manually operable switch, a vibrating. indicator associatedwith eachof said tele-: phone circnits'and special circuit which whenonce set in operation at the substation will continue to operate untilrestored for in t i g the O fi er a t e ub-stati n that he circuit is inan operative condition and also for informing the ofliceriat the centralstation as to the nature of said special service de-' sired at thesub-station, means at the den tral station for restoring said special'circuit to its normal non-operativecondition, a

,visual signal arranged in each of said *cir-' cuits at the respectivesu-b-station, a transformer arranged at the central station and havingits primary winding connected with a source of electric energy whiledificrent points of its secondary winding are cdn' nected with saidcircuits according. to the distance of the respective sub-stations fromthe central station for .pro'ducing electrical impressions of the samevalue on. the visual signals at the several sub-stations,- means forimpressing the electrical energy frdm said transfdrmer on the circuitsof any one or more of said sub-stationsuat will, means at each sub'station for cutting off the elec trical current at the'central stationfrom the circuit of the respective sub-stationfand for preventing saidcurrent {ram being irepressed oln said circuit while said sub-station isin use, means at thelcen'tral station operated from the sub' stations.for indicating that the signal has been received at the particularsub-stations,- and means at the central station for individually testingat will the operative condition of the visual signals located at saidsub-stations while one of said signal circuits is set for operation.

14. A signal system between a central station and a plurality ofsub-stations arranged at different distances from said central station,a plurality of telephone circuits each connecting said central stationwith one of said sub-stations, means associated with said telephonecircuits for producing records from said 'sub' stations at the centralstation and so organized that the telephone circuit and recording meansare operated independently of each other, a special circuit at eachsub-station associated with its respective telephone circuit and havinga manual: 1y operable switch, a vibrating indicator associated with eachof said telephone 'cir cuits and special circuit which when once set inoperation at the sub-station will con tinue to operate until restoredfor informing the oilicer'at the sub-station that the circuit is in anoperative condition and also for informing the oflicer at the centralstation as to the nature of said special service desired at thesub-station, means atthe central station for restoring said specialcircuit to its normal non-operative condition, a visual signal and anaudible signal arranged in each of said circuits at the respectivesubstations, means at the central station for opcrating said signalsselectively on' any oneor' more of said sub-stations, transformer arranged etthe central: station fer sa plyiag the energy for operating thevisual signals and having its primary Winding connected with a source ofelectric energy While different points of its secondary Winding areconnected With said circuits according to the distance of the respectivesub-stations, from the central station for producing electricalimpressions of the same value on the visual signals at the severalsub-stations, means at each sub-station for cutting ofl the electricalcurrent at the central station from the circuit of the respectivesub-station and for preventing said current from being impressed on saidcircuit While said sub-station is in use, means at the central stationfor individually testing at will the operative condition of the visualsignals located at said sub-stations While one of said visual signals isset for operation, means for supplying electric current for operatingsaid audible signals of the several sub-stations over their respectivetelephone circuits, means at the central station for indicating theoperative condition of said audible signal circuits, and means at thecentral station operated from the sub-stations for indicating that asignal has been received at the particular sub-stations.

WILLIAM W. KIDENEY. GUSTAV F. O. BAUER.

